New research into several questions that often dominate Southern Baptist debates — from the rise of Calvinism and prevalence of elders in congregations to speaking in tongues and baptism practices — offers some hard numbers to inform those discussions.
The study was conducted by LifeWay Research, a division of LifeWay Christian Resources, during the spring among a sample of 778 Southern Baptist pastors.
Calvinism
LifeWay Research previously reported a rise in the number of self-identified five-point Calvinists among recent seminary graduates. In the new survey, LifeWay Research asked Southern Baptist pastors if they were “concerned” about this increase, asking them to agree or disagree with the statement, “The rise of Calvinism among recent seminary graduates concerns me.”
Among Southern Baptist pastors, 27 percent strongly agreed, 36 percent somewhat agreed, 16 percent strongly disagreed and 17 percent somewhat disagreed. The remaining 5 percent said they “don’t know.”
Speaking in tongues
In a LifeWay Research release in 2007, half of Southern Baptist pastors answered “yes” to the question, “Do you believe that the Holy Spirit gives some people the gift of a special language to pray to God privately (a private prayer language)?” In the new survey, LifeWay found that practice is much less common than is the belief in its existence. Four percent said they “personally speak in tongues or have a private prayer language,” while 95 percent said they did not and 1 percent “don’t know.”
Baptism
Pastors also were asked about their church’s practice of receiving members who were baptized or sprinkled in other churches.
A full 92 percent said they would not require baptism of new members who were immersed after conversion in another church that has the same beliefs as a Southern Baptist church. If the candidate for membership had been immersed after conversion in another Southern Baptist church, 84 percent said they would not require baptism.
If the prospective member had been immersed after conversion in another church that does not believe in eternal security, 26 percent said they would not require baptism. If the prospective new member had been immersed after conversion in a church that believes baptism is required for salvation, 13 percent said they would not require baptism.
If the prospective member had been baptized by sprinkling or pouring after conversion, 3 percent said they would not require baptism.
If the prospective member had been baptized as an infant by sprinkling, pouring or immersion, 1 percent said they would not require baptism.
‘Southern’ in name
Among Southern Baptist pastors, 7 percent strongly agreed — and another 20 percent somewhat agreed — with the statement, “Having the name ‘Southern’ in the ‘Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)’ is a hindrance to the work of SBC churches.” Forty-one percent strongly disagreed with the statement while 27 percent somewhat disagreed and 5 percent “don’t know.”
To further clarify opinions on the denomination’s name, Southern Baptist pastors were also asked their level of agreement with the statement, “Having the name ‘Southern’ in the ‘Southern Baptist Convention’ is a hindrance to the work of SBC churches outside of the South.” As the focus shifted to Southern Baptist congregations outside the convention’s historic strongholds, 16 percent of Southern Baptist pastors strongly agreed and 26 percent somewhat agreed, while 29 percent strongly disagreed and 21 percent somewhat disagreed. The remaining 9 percent “don’t know.”
Who makes decisions
In a related study conducted in 2007 among 405 Southern Baptist senior pastors, LifeWay Research asked, “Which of the following best describes the primary decision-making process at your church?” Among the pastors polled, 42 percent said their church was congregation-led, while 30 percent said their church was pastor-led.
The other options and responses, in descending order of frequency include: Committee- or team-led (6 percent); deacon-led (4 percent); elder-led (4 percent); led by a board or council other than elders (3 percent); staff-led (2 percent); and trustee-led (0 percent). Seven percent responded “other.”
When the survey results were sorted by average primary worship attendance, a significant difference became apparent in the primary decision-making process. The larger the church the less likely they are to be congregation-led. While the congregation may still be a part of the decision-making process in a large church, the leadership of this process shifts toward smaller leadership groups.
In churches with average primary worship attendance of 250 or more, 8 percent identified “staff-led,” compared to 2 percent in churches under 250 in attendance. By the same token, only 24 percent of churches with average primary worship attendance of 250 or more identified “congregation-led” as the primary decision-making process, compared to 45 percent of churches under 250 in attendance.
This decision-making question was included in a telephone survey in 2007. All of the other questions were included in an online survey of 778 Southern Baptist senior pastors in 2008. (BP)
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